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Ryengo Empire
Shortly after the discovery of the Emerald Gate in the late 600s, the Ryengo Empire was established and declared independence from the Federation. Despite numerous objections, the Senate ultimately allowed this secession as the Ryengans swore to remain neutral in all matters of galactic politics. It was only one world, secession didn't seem like it would become a popular trend, and Uwibami wasn't worth all that much anyway, it was not considere d a great loss. So the Ryengo Empire dominated the whole of Uwibami for centuries, left alone to their own devices and studies. They were one of the biggest contributors to the fields of Outsider Psychology, Transplanar Diplomatic Studies, and Abjurative Magitechnologies. They were even able to stay out of the Wars for quite some time, maintaining their oath of neutrality and simply offering safe haven to refugees. This turned out to be a bad decision, a lot of Rebel armies got it into their heads that anyone who wasn't with them was against them, and anyone who would offer security to all parties was just trying to play both sides. A number of Rebel factions found the time to strike at the Ryengans, and completely wrecked the empire. It is popular belief that only by the grace of the Three Guardians did Ryengo survive, which strengthened their faith and gave them the resolve to carry on. For two hundred years after the Wars ended, the empire was in total disarray. The complete obliteration of the Shikai dynasty, the near-complete loss of everything built up during the renaissance, the destruction that claimed so many billions of lives; it all left very embittered survivors, who flocked to whatever petty warlords held the most strength and made the greatest promises for the future. As Ryengo teetered on the brink of self-destruction and other nations that could threaten it built themselves up, Totoyima himself came through the Gate and picked a new imperial family, blessing it with his own bloodline. The Xing dynasty was forged and, with the support of the Guardians, the empire has survived. Though the empire no longer controls all of Uwibami, it has managed to reclaim significant amounts of territorial control, around 30% of the planet's total habitable regions and population swears fealty to it. The culture of Ryengo is defined by a set of general concepts commonly referred to as the Four Noble Principles. The first of these is the Principle of Leadership; it is the duty of those who lead, command, and rule to set a good example for those beneath them, and in turn it is the duty of those who serve to follow the examples set. Second is the Principle of Harmony; which (in theory) emphasizes a need for everyone to be attuned to the world around them in a (somewhat confusing) literal and metaphorical sense. Third is the Principle of Efficiency, which dictates that people should dedicate their lives to whatever path or paths they have chosen, again in both literal and metaphorical terms. Finally there is the Principle of Memory, which ties partially into the empire's Neo-Shintoism faith regarding remembering one's ancestors and the actions they took and decisions t hey made which helped shape the present and how all that can affect the future. It is often argued that this philosophy crushes or at least works to mitigate the individual, that it promotes rigid and nearly blind conformity, and while that does happen it is not the goal of the Principles. Ryengan philosophers state that the ultimate goal of the Principles is to promote the evolution of life- everyone is an individual and must make their own decisions, but at the same time everyone is part of a vast machine that is constantly growing and improving itself. The well being of the individual is tied to the well being of the whole, and vice versa. There is a fine layer between conformity to social standards and laws, and individual desire and pursuit of dreams, which must be discovered, achieved, and maintained for the spiritual, physical, and mental health of everyone. Such a balance is not easily found, it requires a lifetime- sometimes multiple lifetimes- to find it, but it is believed that upon finding this balance, ascension of self and elevation of the whole is inevitable. Covering fourteen islands and thirty seven skylands, Ryengo is often thought of as being run more like a business than a series of kingdoms. The dynasts of the Xing family wield absolute power, but very rarely exercise it unless a scenario where such power is necessary arises- a lesson learned from the last of the Shikai dynasty, when Emperor Chao Shikai collapsed under the stresses of dictatorship and went completely off his rocker. Emperors and Empresses of the Xing dynasty have come to take a very hands-off approach to rulership because of those lessons learned, only exercising their (literally) gods-given rights for the sake of the empire's safety and prosperity. Most of the proverbial grunt work of rulership is delegated out to the Twelve Great Clans, whose historical names have slipped from memory and are now known only by their symbolic animalistic banners. Each of the Great Clans has a unique ideology, function, and approach to rulership and dictation, but only within the parameters set by the Xing dynasts. As per the previously mentioned philosophies, to outsiders it often seems that Ryengan culture is dictated by what it finds entertaining. People are taught to take pride in and enjoy their work- not just for the sake of the work itself, though that is part of it, but to be happy with the knowledge that their efforts make life possible for their countrymen. The farmer, the soldier, the engineer, the politician, the actress, the first thing e veryone is taught as a journeyman or student is that whatever career they have chosen is that their efforts support everyone in the empire, that everyone relies on their efforts and that this should be as much a source of pride and joy as the birth of a new child or marriage. The instillation of this belief at a young age means that most Ryengans genuinely enjoy what they do for a living, those who do not usually either have the worst possible jobs, have become so obsessed with their professions that they are burning out, or the unlucky sorts that have never found what they truly wanted to do in life. Even the empire's criminal elements are affected by this trend, and all but the most brutal and inhumane sorts at least come off as affable, polite, and honorable. The Ryengan people- at all levels of society- have something of a reputation for being almost ferret-like in their love of flashy, shiny things, magical and mundane ali ke. Multipurpose machines that have hidden spaces or secret tricks or transformative properties are highly prized even if they're utterly useless, complex spells with brilliant and dazzling effects are considered great achievements even if they don't have much practical use. Energetic performances of jazz, rock, metal, pop, and mixtures of these genres are the most popular forms of music, and the redevelopment of televised broadcasting and video games has recently added classical orchestral, gregorian chant, and electronic chiptune to the cultural consciousness. The Draconid race's propensity for building grandiose buildings that have all sorts of fancy additions are extremely popular, though the sturdy practicality of Dwarvish construction design has almost exlusive rights to building important structures, like hospitals and forts and castles. Even the ruling classes aren't immune to these cultural phenomenon, and even the most hard-nosed and socially reserved support it. Primary Ethnic Groupings: Asiatics Total Population: 28 million Racial Census: Human 27%, Draconid 22%, Dwarves 18%, Halflings 12%, Kemono 10%, Lutrosa 7%, Other 4%. Primary Languages: Mandarin, Japanese. Secondary languages: Archaos, English, French. 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